FAA cuts spare Bowman, impact airports at Paducah, Owensboro

Friday, March 22, 2013, 5 p.m. — Louisville Bowman Field’s air traffic control tower was spared being cut by the Federal Aviation Administration in a move it says is necessary due to the mandated budget cuts by the sequester.

But two Kentucky airports were on the list and will lose funding for air traffic control services: Owensboro-Daviess County in Owensboro, and Barkley Regional in Paducah.

The cuts are result of sequestration – the $85 billion in spending cuts that went into effect on March 1 after Congress did not pass a budget.

Of the $1 billion that will be a part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s budget cuts, $600 million will come from the FAA in fiscal year 2013. With that amount, the contract tower program is facing a 75 percent reduction.

According to CNN, altogether, 238 towers are on the chopping block, and the FAA said it expects to cut funding to the “vast majority” of the towers.

The FAA said they would be willing to consider a case-by-case basis on whether or not they should close the towers in certain areas.

“We will work with the airports and the operators to ensure the procedures are in place to maintain the high level of safety at non-towered airports,” FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said.